Nackawic

History

The area was first settled in 1784 by the United Empire Loyalists, primarily through land grants to the families of soldiers who had fought with His Majesty's Regiment of Queen's Rangers during the American Revolutionary War. Previously known as Otis, the development of town began in the late 1960s and was built so those forced to relocate as a result of the Mactaquac Dam being constructed would have a place to reside. Construction of the pulp mill, built to employ these displaced persons who lost their traditional farming opportunities that came with the dam, occurred between 1967 and 1970. Nackawic was officially incorporated as a town in 1976. On 1 January 2023, Nackawic amalgamated with the village of Millville and parts of four local service districts to form the new incorporated rural community of Nackawic-Millville. The community's name remains in official use. The town's largest employer, from 1970 until September 14, 2004, was St. Anne Nackawic Pulp Company Ltd., founded by Karl F. Landegger. The mill closed on September 14 and its owners declared bankruptcy the following day, putting 406 people out of work. About 350 contract workers in the middle of a maintenance shutdown were also affected. The mill itself was left in a state of disassembly. Construction of the mill began in 1967, following the building of the Mactaquac Dam. The plant manufactured high-quality, photographic grade kraft pulp. Increasing energy, material and labor costs here at home; new competition from overseas mills able to operate much less expensively as well as the continuing devaluation of the US dollar, combined with the rapid increase in value of the Canadian dollar, all contributed significantly to the St. Anne Nackawic plant becoming less viable. At the same time, the…